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FAI chiefs now have to decide whether or not to renew Eileen Gleeson in her current role as head coach
The captain has now broken her silence on what was a painful night for everyone connected to a team that had made history last year by becoming the first Irish women’s team to appear at a major tournament.
She admitted: “We are beyond gutted to not be going to the Euros.
“I know that the future is bright for this country and it’s the belief in us that makes these moments harder.
“We will continue to believe, work hard together, find solutions as a group on how we can improve further and use this time wisely.
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“Thanks for your support, we will see you all soon.”
The Arsenal ace has copped some flak for not channelling her naturally aggressive style in the optimum way over the course of the 90 minutes.
She was lucky not to receive a second yellow card in the first half when she lunged in needlessly near the opposition corner flag – a replica of her first similarly rash tackle that did draw a card.
But the 29-year-old could never be accused of not giving her all and was still one of the side’s chief attacking threats throughout the opening 45 minutes and especially during a chaotic late siege.
The biggest question mark around Ireland’s short-term future is whether Eileen Gleeson will be granted a contract extension as head coach.
The 52-year-old refused to be drawn on her position in the immediate aftermath of the crushing 2-1 defeat.
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She said: “I understand you have an interest in that but I can tell you now, I’m not talking about it, I’m not thinking about it.
“We’ve got a team that’s devastated that we are not going to the Euros and that is really where I’m sitting right now.
“I am not going to sit here and talk about big-picture development stuff.
“It is a pretty emotional time. That’s where we are at.”
Gleeson claimed there was what she believed to be provocation from the Wales bench.
She explained: “It was a highly charged game, very emotional and there was a lot of managing emotions.
“There was a lot of provocation along the sideline from the Welsh bench. There were reactions to that as well. It was a team challenge to manage across the night.
“A lot of shouting at players, aggressive language to our staff.
“It’s incidental now, but we manage it on the pitch and you are managing it on the sidelines.
“It’s difficult for players, and there was a lot of high risk and reward associated with this game.”
CRUCIAL VAR INTERVENTION
After a goalless first half, Wales took the lead through a Hannah Cain spot-kick. VAR alerted the ref to an Anna Patten handball after a Wales free-kick was not properly cleared.
Carrie Jones then netted a second before Patten pulled one back late on.
Gleeson added: “I thought in the first half we dominated, we should have finished off the chances we had.
“The early penalty knocked us back a bit, we had to go again. We had a resurgence towards the end but it was too late to get the result over the line.
“We have to go again, there is another campaign, there is a World Cup.
“That’s football, you go again, you take the highs, you take the lows, but we always have to go again.
“Women’s football is not standing still globally, it’s not standing still in Ireland.
“It’s a setback and a major disappointment but we still have to keep moving forward.”
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Publish date : 2024-12-05 01:52:00
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